COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have charged a Council Bluffs woman who they say tried to help her daughter fraudulently claim a lottery scratch-off ticket prize of $50,000. Court records say 61-year-old Michelle Lett is charged with lottery theft or forgery — the same charge her 19-year-old daughter, Katelyn Dolezal, faces. Lett’s attorney, Christopher Roth, says she intends to plead not guilty.

Iowa law requires players to be 21 or older. Authorities say Dolezal was 19 when she bought the winning ticket Nov. 18. Court records say her mom went to the Iowa Lottery office in Council Bluffs to claim the prize, and a check was issued in Lett’s name.

Police say Dolezal later called the lottery office for help, saying her mother wasn’t going to share the money with Dolezal.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court is allowing a woman to sue her boss and the small insurance agency company he led for sex discrimination and emotional distress.
The decision released Friday (Today) lets Joanne Cote take her case to a jury, but it’s more broadly significant because it means incorporated small businesses in Iowa cannot avoid compliance with the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

The case centers on the Derby Insurance Agency in Sioux City, its owner Kevin Dorn and Cote, the office manager. Cote alleged Dorn repeatedly showed his genitals at the office. Cote sued in 2014 but Dorn tried to dismiss the lawsuit, citing a 1965 Iowa law exempting businesses with fewer than four employees, excluding family members, from Iowa Civil Rights Act compliance.

The court says incorporated businesses can’t use that law to escape civil rights actions.

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — Police say a 16-year-old who took a loaded handgun into Ottumwa High School has been charged with a felony. The Ottumwa Courier reports that the school resource officer and a school administrator found the gun and a knife blade in the student’s backpack Thursday morning. He was arrested and charged with carrying a weapon on school grounds. The Associated Press generally doesn’t name juveniles accused of crimes.

The school district says the boy showed the gun to another student, who then notified a teacher who alerted the resource officer. The officer and the administrator removed the boy from a classroom and then searched the backpack. His parents were notified. It’s unclear why the boy was armed.

The Mills County Sheriff’s office reports today (Friday), 56-year old Scott Michael Mathews, of Glenwood, was arrested Thursday afternoon. Mathews was taken into custody for Harassment in the 1st Degree. His bond was set at $2,000.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in Nebraska say a man traveling from California to Des Moines (IA) was arrested following a traffic stop on eastbound Interstate 80 in eastern Omaha at around 10:30-p.m. Thursday, after drugs were found in his sport utility vehicle. The Douglas County (Nebraska) Sheriff’s Office says the deputy who pulled over the SUV became suspicious and deployed his patrol dog. The office says the dog alerted the deputy to the presence of drugs in the SUV.

A search turned up 23 bags containing nearly 27 pounds of marijuana and 2,000 vials of what deputies suspect is hash oil. The Sheriff’s Office says the driver was arrested on suspicion of possession for sale and of other crimes.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) released a report on arrests and accidents. Most recently: 36-year old Justin Kyrle Lawton, of Carson, was arrested today (Friday), for Trespassing in the 1^st Degree. Lawton was taken to the Cass County Jail and later released on his own recognizance. On Thursday, 28-year old Justin Tyler Jacobs, of Atlantic, was arrested on two District Court warrants for Probation Violation. Jacobs was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $4,000 bond. This past Monday, Cass County Deputies arrested 34-year old Bryan Matthew Kirby, of Bellevue, NE, on two District Court warrants for Probation Violation. Kirby was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $50,000 bond. Last Sunday, 23-year old Destiny Dawn Jacobsen, of Adair, was arrested on a charge of OWI 1^st Offense. Jacobsen was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on her own recognizance.

The following persons were arrested March 2nd, by the Cass County Sheriff’s Department: 19-year old Drew Henry Miller, of Atlantic, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Miller was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $5,000 bond. And, 36-year old Christina Cleora Burnsworth, of Atlantic, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Burnsworth was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $2,000 bond. And, on March 1st, Deputies arrested 47-year old Thomas Matthew Connors III, of Omaha, on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear. Connors was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $25,000 bond.

On February 27th, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested 53-year old Curt Thomas Anstey, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Failure to Appear. Anstey was taken to the Cass County Jail where he later pled guilty and was released that same day.

Deputies also responded to two accidents in Cass County. At around 11:56-p.m. Monday, a single-vehicle accident happened on I-80 westbound, in Cass County. Officials say a 2017 Mack Tractor Trailer driven by 52-year old John M. Edwards, of Greenfield, was westbound on I-80 when he hit a slick spot on the road, causing the trailer to jackknife and flip over, blocking one lane of the interstate. No injuries were reported. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $20,000. And, at around 7:47-a.m. March 1st, an accident happened at 630^th and Wichita Road. Officials say a 2008 Chevy Malibu driven by 15-year old Jenna Delaine Pelzer, of Elliott, and a 2018 Kubota tractor driven by 34-year old Andrew John Grieshaber, of Cumberland, were both northbound on 630^th approaching Wichita Road when Pelzer attempted to pass Grieshaber. In the process, her vehicle struck a hay fork on the front of the tractor. No injuries were reported. Amount of damage to the hayfork was not listed; damage to the Chevy is estimated at $7,000.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials in northern Iowa have opted not to hire any of the five finalists for city administrator after an extensive search. Mason City Council members decided not to move forward with any of the final candidates for the city’s vacant administrator position and notified the finalists Wednesday. Mayor Bill Schickel tells The Globe Gazette that council members didn’t reach a consensus regarding one candidate after discussing over the past few months. He says the finalists aren’t a right fit for Mason City at this time.

Schickel says city officials will look into more search options to find finalists, which may be decided by the next city council meeting. The council is paying two men with city administrator experience a $6,000 fee to lead the search.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — A woman who was forced to view sexually explicit photos of her examiner during a test drive is suing the Iowa Department of Transportation for damages. The 49-year-old was seeking a license when she was paired with 62-year old John Alexander for a drive at the Ankeny DOT station in 2016.

Records show Alexander instructed her to pull into a parking lot, handed her his phone and instructed her to delete several photos of his penis. He then forced her to view a video of him masturbating while making comments about her breasts and his sexual history. Alexander gave her a passing score but threatened her to keep quiet. She nonetheless reported the half-hour incident to police.
Alexander who was fired, pleaded guilty to felony misconduct, and was sentenced to probation.

The lawsuit accuses DOT of being negligent in hiring Alexander and allowing him to be secluded with customers.

A traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Pottawattamie County Thursday night, resulted in the arrest on drug charges, of 49-year old Jeffrey Dean Long, of Burlington. Long was pulled over a little after 10-p.m. near the 28 mile marker of I-80 westbound, and arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance (6.4 grams of Meth), and Driving Under Suspension.

Thursday afternoon, 27-year old Derrick Alan Wolfert, of Council Bluffs, turned himself-in to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office. Wolfert was wanted on a warrant for Failure to Comply with the State’s Sex Offender Registry. He was arrested for Sex Offender Registration Violation/1st offense, and booked into the Pott. County Jail.

A man transported by Shelby County Deputies to the Pott. County Jail, was booked in on a warrant. The warrant for 35-year old Zachary Isaac Goodside, of Shelby, was for Violation of Probation on an original charge of OWI/2nd offense. Goodside was booked into the jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

Authorities said also, 42-year old Shane Elam Rouse, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Violating a Protection Order. He was taken into custody at around 12:03-a.m. today (Friday), at a residence in Oakland, at the protected victims’ home. While deputies were at a secondary location looking for Rouse, drug paraphernalia was observed in plain view. Upon further inspection, drugs and additional paraphernalia were found. Deputies arrested 64-year old Brenda Faye Bornn, of Oakland, for Possession of a Controlled Substance (a small, stamp-size bag containing less than .6 gram of a white crystal substance [meth], and a green leafy substance – .9 gram of marijuana). She was also charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (pipes & other miscellaneous items). The woman was taken into custody at around 11:35-p.m., Thursday.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Another trial starting date has been granted to a man accused of stabbing to death a Mason City resident. Court records say the new date is Aug. 20 for 21-year-old Braedon Bowers. He’s pleaded not guilty in Cerro Gordo County District Court to a charge of first-degree murder. Authorities say he stabbed 23-year-old Wraymond Todd on May 30 in Mason City. Todd died June 4.

The records say Bowers’ previous trial starting dates were Aug. 8, Sept. 26, Dec. 12 and May 21. Bowers also lives in Mason City.